CO-AUTHORED WITH ELISE DEMANGE, LAM/SCIENCES-PO BORDEAUX
African national AIDS policies closely follow international recommendations on AIDS prevention and care. If international donors usually prefer funding programs that are in accordance with these recommendations, this characteristic can not fully account for the extreme closeness of national policies with international organizations'' recommendations. The relation of dependence and coercion with donors is usually given as an explanation of coercive policy transfers. However, when studying closely the channels of policy diffusion, those appear to include a voluntary component, “recipient actors” seeking for policy diffusion.
Using a comparative approach between Benin and Uganda (two African countries with different histories and political systems), this paper analyses the mechanisms of « soft transfer » that are at the heart of policy diffusion in the field of AIDS policies in Africa. Our hypothesis states that transnational networks are at the core of policy diffusion. Circulation of ideas and materials occur in “places”/moments such as training activities (of medical doctors, peer-educators) and social events (social protests, advocacy events…). Through these means, networks of actors involved in the AIDS field are spreading their perception of the « right » way to tackle the epidemic.
This paper examines the diffusion mechanisms of international recommendations through the analysis in each country of a network playing a core policy role at national level. In Benin, a network of Beninese and French medical professionals linked to French and European AIDS medical experts'' networks. In Uganda, a transnational network involving American and Ugandan actors – from the political, religious and academic fields. We aim at showing through which mechanisms they concretely contribute to policy diffusion from the international to the national level by studying the training activities and social events they organize.
Through this comparison, we also aim at shedding light on the nature of networks of actors involved in the AIDS field in both countries and compares their characteristics, and more particularly their ties to international organizations. Looking at the density of the relationships among network members, their ties to different forums (academic, policy...), their organization, and the nature of their relationship with international actors, this comparison will enable us to analyze Beninese and Ugandan networks beyond national differences in order to better grasp the characteristics of successful networks and diffusion mechanisms within a “soft transfer” approach.
This comparative research uses qualitative data methods and is based on more than 90 in-depth interviews in both countries, with donor and NGO representatives, health officials and health providers as well as on observational studies (Uganda : 2006-2009, Benin : 2010-2012).
